so, now we know he actually does learn the knowledge contained in the book, but he can only use the skill function if there is an actual skill or spell in the book. also, getting access to all the elementals from one book is so hax. not only does he get to skip the time it takes other people to learn the skills, but he also gets to save all that money. this is assuming he can figure out how to use the other elements on his own. he should see if there's a helpfile or tutorial in the menu telling him what all the elements are.